Today in History - August 30: Empty plane flies over Sydney for three hours

[Admin]

In a freak accident, an unmanned plane took off from a Sydney airstrip by itself on August 30, 1955. When a pilot in training suffered engine troubles, he landed at Bankstown Airport. After he climbed out, he spun the propeller by hand and the plane unexpectedly started moving on its own.

 

The Auster, like this one below, somehow took off from the runway and began flying in ever wider circles. For hours the unmanned plane flew over the city, its range extending from Mascot to Vaucluse, over Punchbowl, Rockdale, Redfern and the CBD. RAAF planes were dispatched from Richmond and Newcastle to shoot down the plane over the ocean, but they were unsuccessful.

 

Eventually two British pilots JR Bluett and Peter McNay, who had flown up from Nowra, were able to knock the plane out of the sky. The two pilots were celebrated, but the Australian government was grilled on why it took three hours to successfully intercept a light plane with nobody flying it.

 

[facthunter]

I remember that Happening . It was a 2 seat version. Archer or Aiglet. Nev

[Admin]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

I remember that Happening . It was a 2 seat version. Archer or Aiglet. Nev

Nev, the news story says it was an Auster

[facthunter]

That's the 2 two seat versions of the Auster Range.. They didn't have flaps. 90 Hp Motor, usually a Cirrus Minor.  Nev.

[Flightrite]

Still happens today, just not M/T😂😂
That event was an embarrassing time for Australian military😂😂 

Edited August 30 by Flightrite

[danny_galaga]

How on earth were they not able to shoot it down 😧

 

I can imagine the procurement process:

 

"Cancel those new Mirage Jets! Auster is where it's at!"

[kgwilson]

1955, 10 years after the end on WW2, just after Korea and before Vietnam. The RAAF probably didn't have any live ammo in any of their aircraft or those capable were too far away or in maintenance. There is an Aiglet at South Grafton & it has a Cirrus minor engine. 4 straight exhausts out the bottom. Very noisy.

Edited August 30 by kgwilson

[facthunter]

It was probably trimmed way back for the Last landing and wandering around in ups and downs and you wouldn't want to drop it in the Burbs.  Nev

[Moneybox]

Obviously trimmed nicely so you'd need to strike critical mechanical components to disable it. I remember my old man telling us stories of the early military aircraft build from timber frame and cloth skin, the bullets just passed right through causing almost no damage at all.

[facthunter]

The only trim adjustable other than by fixed tabs is on the elevator and it would be left in the Landing position I'm surmising and it would probably  go up and down a bit and turn as well when the Airspeed varied. Nev

[onetrack]

It says a lot for the old Auster as to how well balanced it was, to be able to take off by itself, and fly by itself! 

[facthunter]

Bankstown was an ALL OVER  field in those days with ONE long runway about SSE.   I can't recall any T/W that would take of straight without active rudder applied, but obviously they can, sometimes.  Nev